Friday, May 23, 2008

special packages, random thoughts, time to catch my breath

AND BREATH....................

Yep, i think this is the first day in a long time i have been able to relax- no where to go, nothing to do, no one here but me and my lovely cat- you remember dexter right? just in case you don't......


that's right- a day completely and totally to myself- so to myself i almost don't know what to do! i am sure i will manage however- there are a lot of things i have been meaning to do- like clean my house! it is an absolute disaster people! i can't believe i let it go this far- i don't think there is a clean dish in the cabinet, a clean pair of socks in the drawer, or anything clean for that matter. that will all get done though- rome wasn't built in a day right?

so you are all probably wondering what the title of my post means, "special packages"- well for some time now i have had a very special project in the works for a very special girl- i don't know if she has received the package yet so i can't let too much slip. The postmaster who was all too kind to help me send this package and take the time to explain what box is best to use for said items said that it should be arriving at her house today- which is perfect! i will post more about this on sunday- with pictures :0) just in case she does read my blog i would hate to ruin her surprise! but i will tell you all how important this project was to me. I had help from 10 lovely ladies from my college fiber fabrics class to make this project happen and i am sooooo happy with the results! i can't wait to post pictures! check back on sunday! :0)

as for life, well it is going- slowly, faster then i would like sometimes, and very very hectic! like i said i think this is the first day i have had off in some time and although that makes me happy because we are making more money and getting incredibly closer to paying off our debt, i still really want to have some form of a summer break- however when i get a goal in my head i can never seem to get it out so that is why i am working as much as i have been- where am i working you ask? well here is the rundown.....

1) Medical Biller- i am a medical biller 4 days a week, 10 hours each day. i have my own cubicle but i have to share- let me tell you i secretly hate sharing- hubby reminds me of this personality glitch everyday! if i have some sort of food that i love and hubby grabs for it he is likely to loose his hand, seriously.... i imagine that will become worse once i become pregnant- i hear those cravings are serious! so i share my cubicle and because i am a germ-freak i have to come in every morning and sanitize my entire cubicle- desktop, chair arms, mouse, phone, keyboard, drawer handles- everything people! better safe then sorry right? when people get sick at my job they figure as long as they can still type they will come in.... let's just say i don't like their philosophy. with such close quarters that is a ticket to sickness! so basically i sit for 10 hours a day starting at 6am and ending at 430 pm typing my little heart out and billing people for anything and everything. i could tell you the billing codes for pretty much any diagnosis. when i go to the doctor and the nurse is trying to find a code for a pap smear- i know the code, i tell her and she looks at me as if i have two heads and ten arms just waving like crazy at her. she's right- who in there right mind would just KNOW the code for a pap smear? oh well- this lady knows her pap smears and is proud of it!

2)activities director- my aunts group home: this is a job that i love, but is extremely challenging for me. i took this job to not only help my aunt out but also to boost my resume and get something on there that is related to my degree. i have a lot of fieldwork and coursework that is very helpful for getting me a job in the field i want however it's not enough hours in the field so i took this job. i pretty much plan activities for my old people- i love my old people- most days.... when they don't constantly ask me for cookies or a new pair or stockings. i have done a lot of creative projects with my residents since we opened in december- it has been a very rewarding job- very time consuming, but in the end worth it.

3) wedding photographer assistant to the best photographer in the world!!!: okay so may i'm biased but i really think Molly is the best photographer in the world. I was asked to be her assistant at weddings while she is capturing the couples big day. This is by far my favorite job that i have- for me it's not really a job at all- it is beautiful to be such an intricate part of a couples wedding day- molly and i truly do spend the most time with the couple all day and i love watching the couple enjoy a day full of love, commitment, friends, family, good food, lots of laughs, and even some tears of joy. i almost always tear up at the ceremony, the first dance, and the speeches- particularly the ones by the parents. I couldn't think of a better photographer to have at your wedding day- not just because she takes fabulous pictures but also because she has been a bride- she knows what the bride and groom are going through and i have seen her put down her camera many a time to bustle the brides dress, fix a centerpiece, find the wedding party, or give the bride some encouraging words or advice. She is absolutely amazing and if you don't know her or her fabulous work- go check it out! Molly is a not only a wonderful photographer to work for, but also a wonderful friend who i am glad i have gotten the chance to know over these past couple of years. Check out Molly's work on her HERE

so those are all of my jobs- they are all different and all special to me. people always ask me why i don't just quit one of my jobs and keep the rest- my answer is that i would get bored. i hate coming to work and doing the same thing everyday. with my plethora of jobs i never, ever get bored!

finally i will end this post with some random thoughts- which i know is typically a Monday post but i will make an exception.

- hubby and i got the notice that our stimulus check will be coming today!!!! we will be using the money to pay on our biggest credit cards bills which will leave us under $3,000 dollars left to pay on our total debt! D and i were definately doing a victory dance in our living room last night- i promise to post pictures later :0) the day we mail our final payments to our credit card companies will be one of the best days our life- we can finally move on! all of this debt makes you feel stuck in time- i want to move on and live!!!! we are so close!

- i went out and spoiled my favorite little girl yesterday at target- petra of course! i absolutely love this baby- who will turn one in October! where does time go? i feel like it was just yesterday that Nada and i reconnected after not seeing each other for over a year and i found out that she was 6 months pregnant- and of course absolutely glowing and beautiful as always! i am so glad that i am able to be a part of her and her daughters life- they are very special to me and i absolutely love to spoil them- i won't write what i got her, just in case Nada reads this :0). Hubby and i are actually going to be having a Brazilian cooking night with Nada and Martin next week! soooo excited for that !

- i can't wait to do all the things i have been waiting for my whole life to do with my husband. even though at the age of 8 i didn't know who my husband was going to be ( or that my future husband was 15 when i was dreaming of him at 8) i dreamed of what i wanted our life to be. not everything has fallen in to place yet, there are have been some speed bumps and things i never expected but there is one thing that remains the same- Darin is the man of my dreams, my rock, my love and the best thing that has ever come into my life. he saved me from the path i was going down and taught me how to loosen up- which has been much appreciated by everyone i think! we have been talking a lot lately about what we want to do in the next couple of years- a house, a beautiful baby of our own, and a trip to somewhere very exotic- Peru, Australia, Argentina- somewhere gorgeous and relaxing where we can see the highest mountains and take in a beautiful sunset on a hidden path just for us. i can't wait to see what life holds, i know it will be beautiful. hard times come and go, and then they come again- but i know we can make it through.

- i truly have the best friends in the world- they are always there for me and i love them- i know i may call in a frenzy, or not call at all- but i truly do love these people. From tears, to beers (hope you liked the picture erin :0) they are always there for me.

- i am going to ride my bike to work everyday starting next week. i REFUSE to pay $4.15/gallon for gas. And when i get home from work i will be using my car sparingly- if i can walk there, i will- i can not believe we are paying so much for foreign oil when there is enough oil in Alaska to keep us all fueled and going for the next 200 years!!!!!! what is wrong with our government!

well my friends since this post is jam packed and very very long i will leave you with a picture- which is what i am going to try to do every post because everyone loves pictures! :0)

check back on sunday for my package reveal!

here is a fun picture from my bachlorette party that i just came across- my maid of honor made up this game and it was hilarious! in the end it was erin's masterpiece that won! she knows her male organs!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

the most wonderful woman in the world

i wanted to write a post in honor of my mom. i have been wanting to do this for a while now to tell the blog world just how lucky i am to have such an awesome mom and well there is no time like the present- especially because it is mother's day!

i feel very lucky to have my mom- she has been there for me through good times and bad. she is the first person i go to when i have a problem, when i've had a bad day, or when i need advice. I have always been able to talk to my mom and i feel very lucky for that- i know a lot of people who don't have a strong bond with their mothers and i wish that they did because it truly is one of the most special and loving relationships i have ever had in my life.

here are a few of my favorite pictures of us



www.mthreestudio.com


www.mthreestudio.com


www.mthreestudio.com

and those are just a few of the pictures i love of my mom and i- trust me i have a lot more!

today hubby and i celebrated mother's day with my mom with a buffet of taco's and lots of laughter. my mom lives about 10 blocks away from me so i can see her whenever i want which i am very lucky and thankful for. i know a lot of you guys have parents that live pretty far away. i was so happy to be spending mother's day with my mom- there is just something about today that i love. i loved seeing my mom's face light up when we came to the door- taco's in hand and of course a gift for her ( i love spoiling my mom).

today made me think of the day that i will be a mom and how even more special mother's day will be. there are a lot of ladies on my blog roll that are mother's for the first time this mother's day or are expecting and also have a reason to celebrate this mother's day. i am so happy for all of you and can't wait to share this day with my kid's.

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers!

Monday, May 5, 2008

random monday facts

okay guys so i know i have really been bad at updating lately- there is just not enough hours in the day and my finals have taken every last bit of time i have free- which is exhausting. however the end is near! i am almost done with my finals- after this week it's all easy stuff after this. here are a few highlights from my weekend and life in general

- i finished my paper of doom (aka my psychology paper)last night at about 10:30- now why do i call it my paper of doom you ask, well because it had to be 10 pages long with a minimum of 7 references. yea.... that is why i hate reference papers! so on saturday night i sat down with a 4 pack of monster energy drinks and wrote the first 8 pages- then last night only had 2 more to go- i ended up with 11 pages instead of 10! i guess i had more to say then i thought!

- darin and i danced in my college's spring dance performance this year both friday and saturday night. we coreographed a swing dance which was a huge hit! we got lots of applause and wonderful compliments after the show. it was amazing! i received 2 credits for taking the independant study and was very glad i did. next semester i am taking modern dance- which should be very interesting. i am so excited! i hope that after i am done next december i can concentrate more on my dancing and take some additional dance classes- does anyone have any suggestions of what kind of dance classes i should take or where i should take them? i would love your ideas!

- i am finally going back to eating meat- and not just chicken. i decided that it wasn't very healthy for me to not eat meat- i don't get a lot of protein without it and i was getting very, very tired of chicken. so this weekend i sank my teeth into a wonderful pepperoni pizza with the hubby. we always bicker about what to have on our pizza- i love just cheese and some veggies- but he loves meat- any kind and lots of it! so his mouth just about dropped open when i said "let's get a pepperoni pizza"- yea that made his day for sure :0)

- school is almost done- only 2 more weeks and i am RELIEVED i seriously am not sure how much more i can take with homework and classes- i really need a break bad. with all of this nice weather we have been having it's been extremely hard for me to kick my butt into gear and get things accomplished- that's why this weekend was such a accomplishment for me- i sat down, finished my paper and didn't cram it all in at the last minute- it was a really awesome thing!

- i am actually looking forward to working full time this summer- i want to be able to be debt free by the end of summer and it looks like we will be able to do it. i don't want to be buried under debt- especially for as long as we have been. debt is unavoidable- but i want good debt- a mortgage, car payment( my car is at 190,000 miles and it wont last forever!), kids- these are things i want so badly and if we can get rid of all of our unecessary debt we can finally move on to better things. we can save for having kids, and a down payment on a house and hopefully things that we have been dying to get for a long time!

- hubby and i each got 2 parking tickets in the last 2 days for forgetting to call in our cars on the street. our landlords are re-paving our driveway so we can't park there- you think we would have remembered to call them in after the first time, NOPE! well, there goes 80 dollars down the drain. don't we pay enough taxes that we should be able to park anywhere at anytime? street parking passes, liscense plate stickers, and anything to do with the dmv is such a money maker!

- i am about to do my first wedding with Molly on may 16th and i am sooo excited! i will be her personal assitant and the best part? i get to run around and see what she does, the ins and outs of wedding photography. what is also awesome is that the photographer and the photographers assistant are the ones that spend the most time with the bride and groom all day- so you really get to contribute in a special way to their big day, i can't wait!- oh and of course we sometimes get a piece of wedding cake- i love wedding cake!

well guys that's all i have for now- more to come later when the fog of school has lifted- i can't wait to catch everyone up on everythign and actually have time to do a full blog post!

happy monday!